- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
They’ve been the standard setters for the past few seasons, consistently there at the pointy end, but this season there is greater pressure on the Brisbane Roar, Western Sydney Wanderers and Central Coast Mariners to maintain recent lofty standards.
It comes in the form of the old guard.
While it might be a stretch to say that, given this is only the 10th season of the A-League, there’s no doubt that Sydney FC, Melbourne Victory and Adelaide United were among the league’s original pace setters.
After a few seasons struggling to keep up with the likes of Ange Postecoglou, Graham Arnold, Tony Popovic and Mike Mulvey, they all look to be in their best position for a while to bounce back and challenge for honours.
The big question is whether the Roar-Wanderers-Mariners trio can maintain the status quo.
The feeling ahead of Friday night’s start to the season at Docklands is that this has the potential to be the tightest, deepest and most intriguing title race yet.
Whereas in the past there has been a feeling that the top six concept has rewarded mediocrity, the spread of better coaching means that it won’t be easy to finish in the top four, or even six.
Crowds and membership numbers may have continued to rise last season, but if you’re assessing the standard of the football, then there’s an argument that the quality was down on what came before it in season eight.
The Roar certainly continued to excel, but the standard beyond them was down as the league lost two of its best ever coaches, Postecoglou and Arnold.
Even the Wanderers, who pushed Brisbane all the way, did so more through their discipline, competitiveness and organisation than any sort of technical breakthrough.
Only Josep Gombau, at Adelaide, produced the type of quality that could consistently trouble the Roar or Wanderers, but after a slow start he seemed happy enough making the finals.
The feeling at the Mariners and Victory is that their respective new managers, Phil Moss and Kevin Muscat, needed some time to find their feet.
Considering the disruption of losing the A-League’s most successful coaches in Postecglou and Arnold early in their seasons, both Moss and Muscat, assistants stepping up, did very well to finish third and fourth.
Now, with a pre-season of their own to shape the future direction of their club’s football, comes the big test.
If the pre-season is any guide, then Muscat, having picked up arguably the league’s best ever striker in Besart Berisha, certainly appears to have emerged from it ready to challenge for the title.
All the talk of false nines we have heard from Melbourne will be swept aside as Berisha becomes the focal point in attack. Not only will the Victory look to get in behind defences quickly, but they now have someone they can feed and rely on to finish.
Pace and rapid transition into the front third, a trend we have already seen emerge in the A-League, and one that was highlighted at the World Cup, will continue to be a theme throughout this season.
The Victory, through the likes of Connor Pain, Kosta Barbarouses and Fahid Ben Khalfallah, will set the pace here, but even Mulvey, last season, added quick forward transition to the Roar template that Postecoglou built.
Brisbane not only looked to out-possess teams, but did it with an eye to stretching defences and exploiting space quickly, a tactic that, under Postecoglou and Mulvey, has been aided by the wide expanses at Suncorp.
Quick transition into the front third certainly appears to be the direction that Sydney FC, under Arnold, are heading in too.
When I’ve watched them in the pre-season I’ve been particularly impressed by the pace that Bernie Ibini and new skipper Alex Brosque have brought to the side.
Arnold has added a great deal of depth across all the positions within the squad, and for the first time in a long time, perhaps ever, Sydney look to have a balanced squad with cover everywhere.
While all the talk has been about the incoming front-men, a look at the holding midfield, for example, shows that Milos Dimitrijevic and Hagi Gligor can cover Ali Abbas and Terry Antonis.
With seasons now stretching well into May and the Asian Champions League, FFA Cup and national team duty all in the mix, having depth, adaptability and quality coverage in every area is becoming a big deal.
To that end the Wanderers appear to have strengthened, particularly at the back, where the likes of Antony Golec, Brendan Hamill and Daniel Mullen have been shining during the ACL run.
The big question for Popovic is whether Vitor Saba and Romeo Castelen produce the quality to replace Ono and Youssouf Hersi, and those close to things believe they can.
While most have written off the Mariners for much of the A-League’s existence, I’ve generally rated them very highly before a ball was kicked.
This season, however, I sense is their greatest challenge yet. It’s not that Moss hasn’t built a solid squad. It’s just that those around him, with greater funds, have built stronger squads.
There’s no doubt the quality of recruitment has continued to get better and better. In truth it wasn’t hard to improve on the standards dished up in the opening five seasons of the competition.
But now new money is rolling in in the form of the investment into Melbourne City.
It means that we get to see someone of the quality of David Villa, fresh off a La Liga title, UEFA Champions League final and a World Cup, play in our league.
Even if only for 10 games, it adds to the depth of quality, and on the back of Alessandro del Piero continues to attract attention and add credibility to the league.
While there should always be room for quality big-name imports, clubs are starting to realise that any signings have to also serve a purposeful team function on the pitch. There’s no point bringing in a name on his last legs who can’t keep up with the growing speed of the league.
That’s why more and more clubs are looking to unearth the next Thomas Broich, Berisha, Hersi or Marcelo Carrusca.
The latest batch includes Andy Keogh, Robbie Koren, Marc Janko, Pablo Sanchez, Mensur Kurtishi, Matthieu Delpierre, Fahid Ben Kalfallah, Malik Mane, Richard Vernes, Roly Bonevacia and Alejandro Rodriguez Gorrin.
One of the things to get excited about is that many of these imports are attackers.
You may remember last season many went looking for the next Patrick Zwaanswijk. It brought us the likes of Pablo Contreras, Marcel Seip, Rob Wielaert, Kew Jailens, Nikola Petkovic and, later, William Gallas.
Of those, only Jailens and Petkovic have proved their worth. Little wonder standards weren’t as high last season as the previous one.
Fortunately the pendulum appears to have swung back to the attack, so it’s over to the managers across the league to find the formulas to allow these attacks to flourish.
2014/15 season in a nutshell
Adelaide United: Perhaps the biggest signing has been off the pitch, with Barca great Guillermo Amor brought in to the technical circle. The other big move from Gombau, who impressed for the A-League All-Stars, has been to a back three. Excited to see if he can evolve the play beyond the impressive work of last season, and hoping the talented Awer Mabil can take the next step beyond the exciting work of last season.
Brisbane Roar: With a defined system and style they will still be in the mix, particularly if Kurtishi can settle in and score more than 10 goals. But Mulvey will need guys like Dimitri Petratos, Luke Brattan, Corey Brown and Jack Hingert to go to another level. Looking forward to seeing Adam Sarota again.
Central Coast Mariners: without the funds to splurge they have had to be more creative, seeking loans from overseas in Malick Mane and Richard Vernes and scanning the state league and development pathway for talent. This is a huge test of Moss’ coaching ability, and he appears to be banking on having a powerful presence up front. If he comes through it he will have done a great job.
Melbourne City: The pressure’s on John van’t Schip. He has the cattle and in Erik Paartalu and Aaron Mooy finally has something resembling a reliable holding midfield, but it may take some time for all of this change to settle. With Villa and Koren about, the attack is looking good, but the defence needs to be far more convincing than it was last season.
Melbourne Victory: Recruited extremely well right up the spine, from Delpierre to Carl Valeri to Berisha, and with great pre-season form they look right in the mix for the title. The pace and quality of Ben Khalfallah, Pain and Kostas Barbarouses out wide, and creativity of Guilherme Finkler will be critical in teeing up Berisha. Still have to prove the defence has improved.
Newcastle Jets: Given the movement in the squad and a perceived lack of quality coming in, Phil Stubbins will need to be some manager to get the team near the top six. He’s been pushed for an A-League gig for many a year and finally gets his crack. Adrian Madaschi and Jailens offer some quality in defence, but to have a successful season youngsters like Andrew Hoole, James Virgili and Mitch Cooper will need to step up and shine.
Perth Glory: On paper, an attack featuring Keogh, Mitch Nichols, Hersi and Sidnei Sciola has the quality to hurt opponents, but the jury remains out on whether Kenny Lowe has the quality to bring it all together. Based on what we saw last season, the answer is no, but he’s now had a full pre-season to prove he can work at this level.
Sydney FC: Looking very strong. Arnold has hit the ground running, reshaping the squad, covering all his bases, tightening things up and having plenty of options and speed up front. The job now is to keep everyone happy, and in a club like Sydney, with so many views inside and out, that isn’t always a given.
Wellington Phoenix: Albert Riera was arguably the find of last season and we saw how the Nix fell away once he got injured. Again, for the A-League All-Stars we saw what a wonderfully efficient footballer he is. Ernie Merrick believes he has the quality ahead of him in the likes of Michael McGlinchey, Jeremy Brockie and Nathan Burns, but he’ll also need others in the midfield to contribute goals and creativity.
Western Sydney Wanderers: Popovic has added much depth in defence, and with Asian Champions League and Socceroos commitments, that looks like clever insurance. There won’t be much different about the structure, but the season will be defined by how Saba and Castelen settle in, and whether Tomi Juric can take the step to becoming a consistent starter and scorer.
Are you the ultimate team manager? Pick your own superstar team and go head to head with other football fans for glory and cash prizes on Draftstars. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.